Russell Watson

I was born in London the early spring of 1962. My first ten years were spent in Forest Hill, a leafy suburb. In 1972, we moved first to Bexhill, then a few years later, to Hastings, both seaside towns in East Sussex.

My interest in Japan really began when I was around sixteen. I began corresponding with a Japanese pen pal. She was a young woman from the historical city of Nara. The different world she lived in increasingly fascinated me. Following redundancy, I visited Japan for two weeks in the summer of 1981. It was a life-altering experience. I had often said to myself I would return someday. After four years of political activism that left me mentally drained, I decided to refresh myself in Japan for a year or so. That "year or two" eventually became a third of a century living in Saitama and later, Tokyo. Twice I attempted to leave but each time I was enticed back for more. Finally, at the end of 2021, I relocated to Thailand where I hope to remain for the rest of my days.

My first book on Amazon "The Twain Shall Meet" pays homage to scores of foreigners who interacted in some way with Japan and helped bring about a meeting of East and West. Since then, I have published several more ranging from short stories and novels to works on Japanese history.

More recently, I've published "Enter the Cat." a comedy in which the world is seen through the eyes of a ginger tomcat. Then my sixteenth work, "Mason Chronicles 3 - Scraping the Barrel" the penultimate book in the "Mason" world.

My seventeenth title is "Ask a Stupid Question" which is curated from my replies to various questions on the Quora website.

Finally, in October 2024, what will probably be my last book "The Mason Chronicles Revisited - Young Mason" Hope you enjoy it!